Parkinson's Australia disappointed research may not have been carried out by university researchers

Parkinson's Australia says it is disappointed a study with the potential to help patients may not have actually taken place.

The organisation gave the University of Queensland a grant of $20,000 after positive study findings into the treatment were published.

UQ issued a statement on Tuesday saying an internal investigation had revealed a study by a former staff member using a technique called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation may not have been carried out.

Parkinson's Australia's John Bird said the revelations are unfortunate as patients are keen to find a cure and ease the pain and discomfort of the illness.

"We are obviously disappointed," Mr Bird said.

The grant money has since been returned.

Professor Bruce Murdoch, a former staff member from the university's Centre for Neurogenic Communication Disorders Research, was one of the authors of the article.

The ABC has learnt other research by Professor Murdoch is now being reviewed.

Professor Murdoch retired six weeks ago and his profile has been removed from the university's web site.

A spokesman for the Stroke Foundation said it asked the university to look into research done by Professor Murdoch with Stroke Foundation money.

The ABC has attempted to contact the three authors of the Parkinson's disease paper but none were willing to be interviewed.

Research Australia says incident shows checks and balances work

Research Australia CEO Elizabeth Foley said the investigation being conducted by UQ shows checks and balances do occur across Australia to maintain the integrity of the health and medical research sector.

"The thorough process that the University of Queensland is conducting, shows that the Australian system works," Ms Foley said.

"The handling of this case was textbook and we applaud the actions taken by the university to have a retraction printed, returning the $20,000 grant to the donor and advising the National Health and Medical Research Council," she said.

Ms Foley said the transparent way the university undertook their response on the matter sets an important benchmark.

This is the second high-profile case of alleged research misconduct in the past month.